“Where is Selfridges’ second biggest store? Is it in Birmingham or Manchester?” asks one of the executive directors at Central Group, the Thai conglomerate that co-owns the historic department store chain.
Coming as it does from the board member of a company seeking to tighten its grip on the luxury retail group, it is, perhaps, an odd question to ask a journalist.
The director is part of the billionaire Chirathivat family, which owns Central. He asked not to be named as the company prefers to keep a low profile, but its purchase of Selfridges has brought the media-shy company into the international spotlight.
The executive has visited the London store but admitted that he was not across the detail of the retailer’s operations. The Selfridges
